The NFL trade market woke up a bit earlier than expected with two big-name transactions on Tuesday. The Cleveland Browns sent Joe Flacco to the Cincinnati Bengals while the Baltimore Ravens dealt DE Odafe Oweh to the Los Angeles Chargers. What does any of it mean for the Dallas Cowboys and others around the league?

These two teams—both of which have one win through five weeks—could be in selling mode. That’s not necessarily the case but they’re almost guaranteed to start receiving calls from front offices hoping to upgrade their rosters. Among them, the Cowboys should be looking for defensive help as they currently rank dead last in defense EPA/play.

Earlier, I wrote about the Cowboys’ chances of trading for Browns LB Devin Bush (and Browns expert Brandon Little laid out how much he would cost). But if the Cowboys want to land a game-changing star linebacker instead, they should try their luck with Roquan Smith.

Smith is a three-time First-Team All-Pro who earned such honors as recently as last season. Adding someone like him to the Cowboys defense—which ranks as the third worst unit in missed/broken tackles percentage per Sports Info Solutions—would immediately boost the team’s playoff chances.

Through five weeks, the Cowboys have seen starters Jack Sanborn and Kenneth Murray struggle on the field. Marist Liufau and rookie Shemar James seem to be fighting for more playing time and they might get more of it moving forward. But Smith would change the equation.

The problem? The Ravens signed Smith to a $100 million contract extension in 2023. It’s clear they believe in the player. So would they be willing to part ways with him? I reached out to A to Z Sports’ Ravens and film expert Kyle Crabbs for his insight on Baltimore’s situation and how much it would take for Dallas to land Smith in a trade.

Ravens expert on Roquan Smith’s availability

Crabbs: I’m not sure that the Ravens choosing to move on from Oweh is about them explicitly selling — at least not yet. Baltimore is a team that doesn’t offer major contract commitments to edge defenders and the team is once against loaded up with a mix of young players and reasonably priced veterans. Oweh, in the last year of his rookie contract, was ‘on the clock’ and Baltimore likely advantage of a phone call amid a slow start. I would assume we are a few more losses before November and there’s one likely coming against the Rams.

That said, injuries can be fickle and Baltimore has a lot of them, including one to Roquan Smith. The Ravens haven’t seen the best version of him since 2023 and given the long list of potential free agents that need attention, you could make an argument that Baltimore should be willing to listen here for the right offer. It would free up $20 million in cash owed in both 2026 and 2027 and the Ravens do have two young linebackers in Trenton Simpson and rookie Teddye Buchanan.

Has either played exceptionally well? No. And for that reason, Baltimore would likely require a trade package similar to the one they sent for Smith in 2022 to agree to part ways with him now. That was a 2nd & 5th round pick combination.

Would the Cowboys do it?

A second and a fifth is a hefty compensation package, especially for a Cowboys team that recently dealt away its third rounder for wide receiver George Pickens.

But the Cowboys have four first-round draft picks over the next couple of years. In order for Dallas to give up that compensation and be willing to pay Smith what he’s owed, I’m guessing the front office would need more confident on their playoff chances. That would likely imply being loser to the deadline and having a strong win-loss record. A 5-3-1 record, for instance, could entice them to be aggressive.

Until then, any notion of Smith to Dallas is wishful thinking. The Ravens might not be full-on selling mode yet and the Cowboys need wins before sacrificing important draft capital.

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